questions a PNM should ask during rush
 

Hey guys! So, techinically my rush is not for another 3 months, but, I would like to start making a mental note of good questions to ask sororities during rush so I dont like freeze up and have some awkward moments.

I'll start the list
"What is your philanthropy?"

PS I did many searches, but I couldn't find anything.

Lemme start off by saying that you should be asking lots of questions!! Not much is worse than a shy questionless PNM. Be sure to inquire about the philanthropy, dues, activies, socials, formal, homecoming/greek week, that kind of stuff.

Also be interested in the sister you are speaking with. Get to know her, just like she is getting to know you. ask why she decided to join her sorority, and what she likes most about it. Ask if she holds any positions or if she lives in the house.There are a million things you could ask, but for you own sake, dont ask things that should be private or personal, or the 4 B's: boys, booze, bars, bible.

hope that helped!

Asking whoever is rushing you why they decided to go through recruitment/what they were looking for and why they joined their particular organization is a great one. It's an excellent conversation starter and I know for me it helped me find the right place. Most of the girls at KD said many of the same things that I was feeling and looking for and it helped me to know that I had found the perfect chapter!

Not so much an answer to your question BUT...don't learn too much about the chapter or the organization before you go to a party. I had a friend who was also a sigma kappa at my school and she basically drilled me about the chapter so when I got to the party I had no questions and I felt dumb. I did explain to them why I already knew it all and I think that may have helped me get a bid, but yeah...leave yourself wide open.

I would ask about chapter traditions-those are always really neat. Ask about their philanthropy work, do they get together with other nearby chapters for anything, ask about finances, the time commitment (if you know you'll have to juggle your chapter with other activities), that kind of thing.

Trying very hard not to make an inappropriate comment right now.

Ha!

What EVENTS do you organize to support your philanthropy
What opportunities are there for new members to server on committees
What does the chapter do to support new members as they get acclimated to the chapter
What do the sisters do when just hanging out at the house?
Are there any national scholarship programs?

I was also going to say, try not to ask questions such as "what do the letters mean?" or point to their crest and ask "what do those symbols mean?". That would be treading into ritual territory, and you don't want to put your hosts in an awkward position. Keep it light, breezy and the above advice is pretty good thus far.

While I agree that it's important to make sure you get all your questions answered, you also want to be careful not to grill the sister rushing you. Firing off question after question might make it sound like you have some kind of mental checklist or something. Definitely be genuinely interested in the answer and discuss it a decent amount before you shoot off another question. However, when I rush girls, I ALWAYS ask them if they have any questions that weren't covered during that round/by other girls who've rushed her - especially if they seem shy and might be scared to ask - and I appreciate the girls who do ask questions because it really does make you sound interested in the house.

Are dues all inclusive? Will you be paying extra for formal, or for your date to go to formal?

The four aforementioned B's are DEFINITELY no-nos. I will say this, though. If you are NOT a partying person, you might want to make sure you aren't getting into a house that parties 24/7. You can ask something like, "So do you guys go out together a lot?" And then, "Oh...well what's there to do in this town?" That doesn't imply that you're interested in any one activity, but if they list a bunch of bars to go to and little else, that should tell you something. This goes for anything that you're not comfortable around...if you aren't very religious or if you aren't very clingy...anything like that. Ask roundabout questions and look into the answers to find out if these are girls you'll be comfortable with. Because the girls you're meeting during recruitment are most likely not REALLY the girls you'll be with after. Recruitment, unfortunately, can be very fake. Also do ask about their philanthropy and ask some LIGHT questions about the national or international fraternity/sorority. If they can't answer these, this isn't a good sign. If philanthropy is very important to you, ask them what opportunities there are to raise money, where it goes, etc.

I would ask, nicely (and spacing out the questions if there's more than one) about things that will factor into your decision such as cost, the time it will take up (how many required events are there in a semester, typically?), whether or not you will have to live in the house and for how long, etc. Just make sure you space the questions out. It's not very nice to grill someone. A GOOD rusher, though, should ask if you have any questions while y'all are talking. You can then politely ask important questions, with more superficial ones to keep it light so that neither of you feels awkward.

Thanks guys! These are so good and I wouldn't have come up with some of these! Also, thank you very much for the advice. I'm so excited to rush and I just want to have the best possible rush I can. :)

Check out this thread. I compiled a list of questions based on feedback from PNMs and sorority members.

At every house during round one I asked if there were any girls in the chapter involved in theatre and/or other time-consuming outside activities. Since I was going to major in it it was important to me to know that I would have time for both in my life. Often it resulted in my being introduced to a drama major/minor or someone who did community theatre (and a couple of times it resulted in "Ew, you do DRAMA?"). Either way it helped me to find out something that was important to me when looking for a fit.

Make sure you find out everything you need to know about finances and other commitments during recruitment. I can't tell you the number of girls I've known who have pledged various houses only to say "Hey wait, it's HOW much?" or "OMG I have to live in the HOUSE?"